And, if truth be told, I could have been a little more disciplined on the working out front. However, all is not lost as I’m 24 lbs lighter than this time last year and I have a new target – become bikini fit by Spring, or Mr ShoeThatAlwaysFits’ birthday, to be more precise. That’s a 14 week boot camp ahead of me, removing that last 14 lbs of excess. I’m pleased at how far I’ve come, but I know that I could have done better – and that’s downright annoying. I could have pushed myself a lot harder, but I didn’t – buggerations.

The truth is it’s always easier to do something other than a little bit of exercise. I’m absolutely fine if I’m in a routine, but if I lose momentum then it’s hard to get going again. And with work commitments, breaks away, trips to see family etc, it’s really ridiculously easy to lose the drive. Over these last few months I’ve not been working out enough and I’ve been been a little bit greedier than I should be – those pesky glasses of wine or two really do add up after all. Not to mention bacon sandwich Fridays. And the small inconsequential fact that I ate more than 2.5 times my calorie allocation on Christmas Eve alone – if you drinketh the wine, then you succumb to the cheese and crackers – true fact.

Therefore over the next few weeks I’ll propel myself back into my regime and stick to it come hell or high water (although I’d better not make jokes about high water at the moment). I need to stay motivated and force myself to accept the truth that ‘nearly’ isn’t good enough this time. MrShoeThatAlwaysFits inadvertently helped me out yesterday by absconding off to work with the last of the chocolate buttons, without as much as a ‘by your leave’.

On the plus side, I’ll get more than enough exercise on my walk home tonight leaping out of the way of fast car puddle-spray, navigating large deep puddles via a complex stepping stone routine, and running for my life between hailstorm showers. Who knew that winter could be so invigorating?